Daily Search Forum Recap: April 21, 2026
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google says when it comes to SEO…
Google: When It Comes To SEO, Nobody Knows Everything
Google’s John Mueller said the other day that “SEO is not belief-based, nobody knows everything, and it changes over time.” Super true, I’ve been covering SEO changes over the years and I spot this all the time.
Google: You Can Do A Lot Of SEO That Don’t Work & Still Do Ok
Google’s John Mueller said that since SEO is complex, multifaceted, and resilient, you “can do a lot of things that don’t work & still do ok.” Meaning, you can mess up on several SEO things and still do well with search rankings.
Google Shopping Showing Shopping Ads Within Free Listing Grid
Google is reportedly showing shopping ads in the free listing grid in the Google Shopping tab. Previously, Google was better at showing more free listings but that seems to have changed.
Google Search Console Performance Report Job Listings Reporting Bug
Google Search Console seems to have a bug with the performance report, specific to the jobs listing and jobs search appearance filter. The report is showing zero impressions and clicks since the 16th of this month.
Google Documents Read More Snippet Links Best Practices
Several months after Google launched the Read more links within the Google search results snippets, Google decided to post some best practices how Read more links work. These should help you encourage Google to show the read more links and thus help i…
The Yoast Perspective 2026: 7 things we learned from the SEO industry
SEO in 2026 is expanding, not changing. Traditional search still matters, but now SEO also includes AI-driven discovery, social platforms, and chatbots. The principles are the same, like clarity, structure, authority, and relevance, but the platforms are multiplying. We surveyed 59 SEOs to see how they’re handling these changes. Some have less than a year of experience. Others […]
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Breaking! Can You Rank In Google Without Content?
In my recent post, I showed you how Google faked a deep, human-level understanding of content. This follow-up story is building…. Hmm – The site (with no human visible content) is ranking in G now Proof you can rank in both AI’s and t…
Google Search Tests Opening Search Results In New Window
Google is reportedly testing opening search results in a new window. Yes, there is a setting to turn this on or off, but the setting is turned off and Google is testing opening these clicks in a new window.
Google Local Search Ads With Videos Ads
Google is testing showing video ads within the local pack ads. This is also known as immersive map view videos, I am told.
Can Google Handle Domains With One Letter Difference? Usually
A Reddit thread asks if there are any issues with Google Search handling a domain name that has a single letter change in the domain name from another domain name. John Mueller from Google said that usually this is not a problem from Google Search.
Better Competitor Targeting In ChatGPT Ads?
Are ChatGPT ads allowing advertisers to go after competitors with greater specificity, or is this just a topical fluke?
Microsoft Bing Offers IndexNow Support To The Internet Archive
The folks at the Internet Archive are having issues with archiving the web. Something it has done since 1996 and is such a foundational website that it is sad to see. That being said, Fabrice Canel from Microsoft Bing wants to help.
Is There a Sandbox for New Sites in Google AI Overviews?
Running a live test with a new domain to see if @lilyraynyc is correct about a sandbox for AI overviews. Initial observations: Google prefers to take context from a second trusted site. AI overviews won’t link. AI mode will. Indexation doesn̵…
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Back Button Hijacking Penalty, Spam Reporting Change, Google Ads AI Max Replacing DSAs & More
This week we covered a new Google Search spam penalty for back button hijacking. Google also updated its spam report, it may now be used for manual actions. Google is aware of self-serving listicles and warns not to…
Google Maps Blocked 292 Million Reviews & Removed 13 Million Fake Profiles
Google also released the annual Google Maps safety report saying blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating reviews and removed over 13 million fake Business Profiles. Google also said it blocked 79 million inaccurate or unverified edits and …
Google Ads Removed 8.3 Billion Ads – Up Over 60% (Most Before Serving)
Google has released its annual Google Ads safety report and the big number that stands out to me is that Google removed 8.3 billion ads, which is up almost 63% from last year’s number of 5.1 billion. Google did say that 99% of those were removed befor…
Bing Tests Animated People Also Search For
Microsoft is testing animating the Bing “people also search for” boxes. Bing will run this animated outline around the boxes when it loads, to give it more attention to the searcher.
Google’s AI Mode Now Opens Links In Split View On Desktop
Google rolled an important change with how AI Mode works yesterday and it can have a big impact on the experience for desktop users. Now when users click a link in AI Mode…
Google Updates Reviews Policy To Restrict Staff Mentions & Solicitations
Google has updated its reviews policy to add two items; (1) do not have your staff solicit a certain number of reviews and (2) the content of the review should not mention the staff member’s name and information.